Medicinal cannabis is already legal in both Victoria and New South Wales, but Queensland's new legislation has a very different framework—establishing two different pathways for medicinal cannabis treatment. The first gives specialist doctors, such as oncologists, the ability to prescribe medicinal cannabis to patients with certain conditions without state approval. The second concerns non-specialist doctors, like local GPs, who are able to apply for permission from a government body to prescribe cannabis for patients suffering from certain conditions.

Introducing the bill, Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick said that he was proud to be progressing a "groundbreaking reform."

"This bill will change the paradigm for seriously ill patients who feel compelled to seek out illicit cannabis treatment options by enshrining in an act a legal and safe pathway through which to access medicinal cannabis treatment," he told Parliament.

Minister Dick labelled the new two-tiered medicinal cannabis laws "the most flexible in the country," although the process for qualifying for treatment from a local GP will still be heavily regulated. A patient's application for medicinal cannabis will be assessed not only by the symptoms of their condition, but also by their history of drug dependence.

Tuesday was a big day for medicinal cannabis debate in Australia, with Tasmanian Parliament voting down a bill introduced by the Greens to quarantine patients from prosecution while they wait for the state's new medicinal cannabis laws to come into effect in April 2017.